My problem is that I have a Greenwood Daytona body & I cant just load my project car onto any ol car hauler because of the long low front end to take it anywhere & get stuff worked on that I cant do myself. I've been stuck for over a year with this problem. Trust me, I've exhausted a LOT of hauling options.

So, I came up with the idea of putting an air suspension on the car. With that I could just flick a switch & raise the car up really high & make it go places a normal car would. Ya know, like over a speed bump or up onto a car hauler.

I have NO interest in making it hop or do any fancy tricks like side to side, front to back, dog leg etc. Just pancake, up & down & thats it. It would be nice if it had some sort a gage to show where normal ride hight pressure is.

What kind of complete kits are out there for around $1000 USD that will accomplish this without breaking in 5K miles once its on the road? Should I be looking at air shocks or air bags? Whats the advantages & disadvantages of the 2? Do they even make a bracket kit that will fit a C3? I know very little about air ride suspensions & looking for more info to determine if this is a plausible solution.

 

have you tried these? they also make an extension that lowers the angle

http://www.reverselogic.us/ReverseLo...ited/Home.html

 

If the standard Race Ramps trailer ramps are too steep, the custom RLL-89-2 ramps with a trailer ramp adapter might do the trick. The incline sections have a curved top that starts out at a low 4˚ incline and gradually sweeps up to 8˚. The ramps are available with a trailer ramp adapter or a service platform. A 10" longer version is also available. It starts out with about a 3.5˚ incline.

The RLL-89-IS is similar to the RR-TR-5 and RR-TR-7. It has a low approach angle like the RR-TR-5, but, it sweeps up close to just 1/4" lower than the RR-TR-7.

We also offer custom length trailer ramps which incorporate the Progressive Incline curved top. The curved top allows the ramps to be shortened from 25% to 30% in length compared to a constant slope ramp.

 

Thats a really great solution for car haulers but it seems inconvenient to keep on top of the car all the time & have to put in place for every speed bump I encounter later on when I actually start driving it though.

 

You should be able to find Shockwaves that would fit the front.

http://www.ridetech.com/store/index....tegory_id=1944

Maybe the 104 or 8000 series would work.

Peter

 

Call the guys at Accuair.
spoke with them at Sema a couple of years ago.
http://accuairsuspension.com

 

This may sound sarcastic, but I assure you, it is not. Have you thought about trying to post on some sort of low-rider type forum? There is bound to be some sort of low-rider community that would be able to answer a question like yours in about 5 seconds flat. Just don't let them convince you to start bouncing it!!!


Scott

 

Actually, I did do a quick search for just that sort of thing & gave up pretty quick. Basically, the lack of info I found suggested to me that nobody with a C3 has ever put air bags on it or IF they did then they used a generic universal bracket kit & never really showed or told of the results.

For years, for the most part, the guys of Corvette Forum kick @$$. They are knowledgeable, informed & experienced. Some times they speed too much money on stuff but hey, if ya got it, go for it, no fault there.

I'm currently checking out air kit dealers on ebaY in the 1K range to see if custom / universal is the way to go but answers to questions about "S10 & Hotrod complete kits" haven't come back yet so I have nothing to report, yet.

Could it be possible that I'm the first C3 owner to have this idea? Hummmmm, I will ponder this obfuscational conundrum over my next ritualistic morning coffee routine.





(BTW, to the the 14 people that wrote me varying degrees of really mean private emails I didn't respond to... I was totally kidding about putting ramps on top of the Vette. SERIOUSLY!

That would just be silly, if they were backward. Obviously, they would be installed with the small end toward the front for maximum aerodynamic down force at speeds over 118 MPH to implement maximum uniform traction. Come on now, I wouldn't want you to think I'm a ricer with a useless spoiler on the trunk of a front wheel drive. Be nice, the humor of absurdity IS a good thing .)

 

To the Accuaire comment... Man that video on there is bad @$$! Slammed when parked, normal ride hight & jacked up for speed bumps. Perfect for my needs.... except that its more than twice my price range. A+ for effort on that suggestion! If I had a little more dough, that would be the way to go!

 

No experience here, but just a thought that will fit your pricerange, if it works out:
Did you check a normal shockabsorber with air assit, like often been used in vans, but also in the reas of wagons, to keep them level at heavy loads?
Such like the Monroe's and I believe Gabriel has them too?
Would be only a few 100$, and you need only one set in the front + a small compressor and valve.
Cor

 

http://www.airbagit.com/product-p/fbs-che-50-kit3.htm

 

List Price: $3,237.60
Our Price: $2,698.00

 

There is a local firm that makes an "air" extension to your front shock absorber. I've seen them set up at Goodguys and a couple of local meets. They often have an over the top 69 Camaro Restomod with which they demo their system.

Basically it is a shock that you push a button in the car and an air supply stuffs some air into this shock raising the car some 3 or 4 inches,,,other than this the rest of the suspension is stock. Looking at it, it looks like a very well engineered product. I think that much of their target customer are Ferrrari, Corvette and such low slung sports cars.

If anyone is interested, respond on this thread and I will pull up from my stuff that I pick up at shows the brochure on this company. Forget the name of the product or company right now.

 

I'd like to see the info about those, many thanks. we used to run rear air shocks on the fronts , nice thing was that when you finished with the hauling , you could take them off and it didnt require modifying things. dont know if you could find any that would fit where the oe vette shocks are , but its a thought.

 

I'm currently doing an air setup on my C3 using RideTech components. With four adjustable shocks/springs, tank, compressor, valves, computer, etc... you're not going to find anything remotely close to 1,000 with a complete setup. More like 4,000. You could piece together some type of bag system with and up/down manual switch for a lot closer to that number if you were going to do quite a bit of the fab but still difficult at that price point.

 

Air Ride Technologies AKA Ride Tech http://www.ridetech.com/
lionelhutz posted about the shockwaves so why not give them a call?
They will not be the cheapest - that's for sure but they are real big in the pro-touring scene and their stuff flat out works. They may be able to put something together for you.

 

I am running a Ridetech E3 system and Shockwave airbag/shock combinations with internal height sensors on my 59.

Overall like the system very much, some cons, many pros but given a complete choice verses coilovers and cost no object, would do again.

However car has Jim Myer front and 4 link rear suspension. Don't know what would have to be done to do a complete upgrade replacement on a C3,,,perhaps swap out all other existing hardware too.

For now I am settling on putting a Borgeson steering box in my 71,,,found one under the Xmas tree last week. Likely as far as I will go.

 

]

This thread is a few years old with no up dates. Just wondering if any resolution was found. I too have a Daytona nose, but the opposite problem. My front end sits too high and I am also running 18's. I dont worry about speed bumps and she loads okay on a flat bed, problem is I want a lower stance for shows only when she is sitting still. I just like and want that stance. I am considering air bags. Would put the tank under the body where the spare tire is building a custom holder to hold it there and run lines to the front, and the switches to the console. Any thoughts?

 

Fitting an "inexpensive" air suspension to your C3 is troublesome. If you are using an oem style suspension, you are looking at a complete custom fabricated installation. That is not cheap.
Unless you are completely comfortable with suspension design and fabrication [and I am assuming you are not], do not attempt to adapt any "universal" air suspension to your car. You will be greatly frustrated with the process and the results.

When we were in development of our C2/C3 complete coilover suspension a couple of years ago, I made the conscious decision to not necessarily accommodate ShockWaves on that car for a couple of reasons:
1. I did not perceive that Corvette owners would want to trim the front coilspring cup for airspring clearance
2. The rear coilover/ShockWave placement is tight...more clearance would have to be made for ShockWave diameter
3. The rear suspension ride height is more critical on the Corvette than on a normal stick axle car...adjustable ride heights could potentially affect u-joint/half-shaft performance
4. I just did not think that the Corvette market was all that interested in air suspension.

Having said all that...one of the first systems that we sold was to Josh Powers at Custom Image Corvette...with ShockWaves. He has made or is making all the necessary accommodations for a proper ShockWave installation in conjunction with our new suspension system. Josh has been to our facility for suspension training, and was part of the build team for the 48 Hour Corvette. I know he reviews this forum regularly so I will let him respond with details on that.

Keep in mind that as the owner of an air suspension company, I would do nearly anything to sell you an air suspension...except disappoint a fellow hotrodder.
For your particular problem and your budget requirements...buy some longer loading ramps. Air suspension is a wonderful combination of ride quality, handling performance, and stance adjustment, but may be an expensive solution to a simple loading problem.

Now...if you want to talk about a radical improvement in handling and ride quality...along with the added benefit of ride height adjustment...we've got what you need

 

I came to the same conclusion... Because there is no bolt on kit there is no such thing as an inexpensive air suspension for a C3 to help with occasional loading and sleeping policemen. Adding an air ride to a C3 is for the hard core only.